1. This book, set in Madras, India in 1910, is based on the true story of a group of children who are part of a theatre group travelling around the country. Two of the girls in the group, Tilly and Poesy, tell the story.  The group are from Australia and while in India they go on strike, refusing to work any more until their manager is sacked.  Hearing the story from two different perspectives gives you a real insight into what the girls experienced, their feelings, conflicts and constraints.

You get a real idea of what life must have been like for them. I enjoyed it but I did feel it was a bit long and the ending could have been better.

Reviewed by Megan

 

2. The book is set in Melbourne 1909 where the young bright Poesy Swift is faced with working in either a jam or match factory when she joins the Children's theatre company;  The Lilliputians. She is promised by the charming and handsome Mr Arthur a life of luxury performing on stages across America. However for unexplained reasons the journey starts with a 2 year tour through Asia. The excitement of leaving dull Melbourne is slowly replaced with the fear of the dark dangerous world of India. The young performers soon realised the scandal they have secretly been manipulated into.

I really enjoyed this book, the realism and the insight of how the children were treated was particularly interesting. The contrasting characters really gave the story a range of opinion and thought, for instance Tilly Sweetrick, mature, flirty manipulating teen, best friends with the naïve, optimistic joyful Poesy Swift. As much as l loved this book there were very little historical references although I would like to read more on the topic of Children's theatre.

The only character that I had any distance between was Eliza one of the older girls who was romantically involved in Mr Arthur although the reader was meant to feel sorry for her however her character annoying and annoying and that although her story was interesting it was not that important to include her in the story.

I would recommend with people from 12 onwards, not due to the complexity of writing or vocabulary but the adult themes.

Reviewed by Claudia

 

3. I thought that India Dark was an intriguing book to read. The build-up, although slow, was interesting and it planted lots of questions that would be answered later. The climax was rather drawn out but again very exciting to read, if a little tiring in places. The ending was not overly satisfying but answered most of my questions that built up throughout the book. The historical relevance seemed pretty accurate, though as I do not know about the time of history I cannot be sure about any of the facts. I would give in an 8/10 as it was an enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Sophie